Lookalike Shadow
by KawaiiKat
Summary: A mysterious ship crash in Lindblum leads to an interesting mix-up among Zidane, Dagger and Steiner... Follows the original FF9 storyline, so it contains spoilers. Please review... ^_^
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own FF9 or its characters… Doesn't everyone wish they did?

A/N: I warn you again, SPOILERS ahead. Don't read unless you want to see stuff from FF9… Even if it _is _a little warped…

'Kay. Enough talk. On with the 'fic!

"_ALERT. ALERT. ENGINE TWO AND THREE ARE OUT OF COMMISION. ENGINE ONE OUTPUT TWELVE PERCENT. ENGINE FOUR OUTPUT FIFTY PERCENT_." The sphere structure droned, steadily hovering beside a woman who was busying herself with sparking cables. The monitor beside her flashed useless yellow text on its fractured screen.

"Thanks for the hot tip." She snarled back. "If it wasn't for you, we'd still be flying this ship until it friggin' _exploded_." 

"_THE CURRENT SITUATION WOULD NOT MATCH YOUR CALCULATIONS, KALONI. THE SHIP WILL CRASH FIRST, AND THEN EXPLODE. ALERT. ALERT…_"

Too damn smart for his own good… "Don't you have anything better to do, C.O.N.S.I?" Before the sphere could reply, a small black mage staggered in the room. His amber eyes were the only signs of emotion from him, but they were enough to portray his feelings for the situation.

"I _really_ hate turbulence… Oh, we have a problem, too."

"Tell me about it!" Kaloni snapped, growing increasingly frustrated with two cables that had frayed to extremely fine strands. "What's up now, Kurone? Is the engine about to explode or something?"

The black mage swallowed. "Yes, but that's the least of our troubles right now. It seems that the gang that ambushed us earlier knocked us off course, so instead of getting to Planet Sine, we're on our way to rather legendary area dubbed 'Venson's Circle.'"

"And _what_, may I ask, is Venson's Circle?" Kaloni gritted through her teeth.

"_VENSON'S CIRCLE IS NAMED AFTER INFAMOUS SPACESHIP PIRATE THRIAN VENSON, WHO CAME TO THIS SECTOR DURING HIS MOST MEMORABLE HIJACK_."

"Uh huh…"

"_HE DROVE THE HOSTAGES AND QUITE A FEW LAW ENFORCERS INTO A WORMHOLE THAT PERIODICALLY OPENS AND CLOSES. THEY WERE NEVER SEEN OR HEARD FROM AGAIN_."

"Oh _Goddess_… I just heard it was dangerous and it was open around this time!" Kurone muttered, adjusting a device over his right eye. It was a half visor that had an aqua green lens and a whitish holder that curved comfortably to the side of his face. Yellow information flickered over the lens. "How convenient. We're screwed anyway, right?"

"Yeah…" Kaloni cursed silently.

"_THAT WOULD BE AFFIRMATIVE._" The sphere hovered away.

"Well, there's only one thing left to do before we reach certain oblivion…" Kurone said, looked pathetically at his friend. "Got any regrets?"

"I didn't even get a chance to gamble at Sine!"

"I never got the change to buy that new Twister Scythe. Enchanted blades at both ends… Mmm…"

"I couldn't upgrade C.O.N.S.I."

"Blades… Mmm…"

Kaloni growled. "KURONE!"

"What?" The mage snapped out of his reverie.

"Ah, forget it… We're gonna die anyway…" Kaloni reached into her back jean pocket. "Wanna play cards?"

"Ooh! I love Twenty-One!

Zidane felt a sense of pride after sneaking past the Lindblum guards. It seemed that every second he spent on this adventure, he did something worth telling his future kids, or grandkids… If he lived that long, anyway. The soft notes of Dagger's song reached him and he quickened his pace to see her at the overlook. She was caught by surprise in the middle of her song, and seemed to look so beautiful in the sunlight…

Before any words could be exchanged, what seemed to be an airship flew erratically overhead, leaving behind a trail of blackened smoke. It crashed in the direction of the Industrial District. Dagger yelped at the sudden explosion that followed, definitely at a complete loss for words. 

"What was _that_?!" Zidane managed to choke out.

"…Some kind of strange metal airship? It doesn't matter. I must take my leave to investigate this matter further!"

"There's that royal tone again…" Zidane shook his head and followed the quickly escaping princess. "What the hell is going _on_ around here anyway?"

            And so it starts… Please review. I'm a bit iffy whether I should continue this or not…


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own FF9. I _do_ own Kurone, C.O.N.S.I, and Kaloni. Ah, a reason to at least be semi-happy…

A/N: Okay. Who _doesn't_ think I died? *sees no hands* Hmm. Anyway, after battling off Writer's Block and other obstacles, I'm back with no feelings of vigor and enthusiasm. You'll find this chapter short, but longer than the prologue. If you see Fiji, my kangaroo muse (can't miss him, he's purple) you get a cookie, scythe, and Vivi plushie for shooting him. As for The Grand Adventures of Vivi and Kuja, I'm working on it. It'll pop up sooner or later. 

And honorable mention to the only one that reviewed. Thank you, Lady of the Galadhrim. I suppose this chapter is dedicated to you.

All right then. On with the 'fic!

Lindblum was indeed a magnificent place. It had several districts, each with its own wonders. The people that inhabited the city came from all over the world. Lindblum was also known for its grand airships. To Vivi though, two things stood out more than anything else…

Lindblum was big, _very_ big, and it was frighteningly easy to get lost.

He had managed to memorize the way he had come. With that worry out of his head, he thought back to the subject that took most of his concentration. The Festival of Hunt… It really did sound like fun, especially since there were animals.

"Oof!" Vivi was taken by surprise as he found himself hitting the ground. He'd bumped into somebody.

"Oh… I-I'm really sorry a-about that…" The man he collided into turned, and to Vivi's relief smiled. 

"S'okay kid. I wasn't graceful as a boy either." It was about this time that a blackened "airship" suddenly plummeted further ahead. Smoke billowed upon the ship's impact with solid ground, and several screams sounded out from the general area. "What the-?!" 

Before the black mage could respond, the man was gone to investigate. Vivi pulled his steeple hat a little further down over his head before following.

"I h-hope nothing bad h-happened…"

"_KALONI. WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP-_"

"Dammit C.O.N.S.I.!" Kaloni roared at the top of her lungs. "You must exist for other reasons than to make my life a living hell!" 

The reasonably intact C.O.N.S.I beeped and whirred at her, continuing on as if she'd never spoken. "_THE SHIP HAS BEEN COMPLETELY DESTROYED._"

"No shit." She muttered, relieved that there was little smoke around her. There was, however, a large amount circling the wreckage she currently sat in the middle of. "And here I thought that I'd gone down with my ship, my assistant, and my ever so lovely companion. How's it feel to once again beat the odds and survive, Kurone?"

"_THERE IS NO TRACE OF KURONE. HE IS NOT WITHIN THE SHIP'S REMAINS. PROBABLE THAT HE WAS THROWN OUT UPON IMPACT._"

Kaloni bit her tongue to prevent cursing out her assistant. She instead sighed with a hint of sadness, clearing annoying strands of black hair out of her face. "Ah… Ah shit… Wonder if he's okay?"

C.O.N.S.I was taken back by surprise at the sincerity in her voice. "_A REMINDER…_" He droned, "_I DO NOT REMEMBER KURONE FINISHING OFF HIS DEBTS. IN TOTAL HE OWES YOU EXACTLY FIFTY-SEVEN AKO. HE OWES PLANET SINE OVER TWO THOUSAND AKO IN LOSSES. HE OWES ME TWENTY AKO._" Kaloni twitched.

"What did he owe _you money for?"_

There was a moment's pause, as if it were very far back in his memory. "_…I PLAYED A GAME OF DIGITAL CHECKERS WITH HIM AND WON EASILY._" 

"Goodie." Kaloni growled, stumbling to her feet. Her gray hooded jacket, jeans, and sneakers were smoking. "My clothes have lived up to their quality. Though that is good, let's review. Our ship's been shot down, we've gone through a wormhole, my friend still owes me money and I'm stuck with C.O.N.S.I…"

"_I DO NOT SEE WHY MY PRESENCE IS CLASSIFIED AS A BAD THING. BESIDES, YOU FOUND YOU WERE STUCK WITH ME BEFORE YOU FOUND OUT THAT KURONE STILL OWED YOU MONEY._" 

"C.O.N.S.I?"

"_YES?_" The sphere did its best to sound innocent.

"Remind me to fling you into a black hole if we ever return to space. Until then, let's go find Kurone so I can kick his ass." 

"I bet Kaloni's gonna kill me when she remembers my debts…" Kurone trudged along the streets of Lindblum. During his time outside the ship he had found (with great frustration) that he'd lost the device that once fitted over his right eye. He turned to the fallen ship with a sense of relief and guilt. Was it right to leave those two alone in the ship? 

He turned tail and ran from the ship without another thought.

The man from before stopped in surprise as he reached the black mage. "'Ey! You got here quick! What happened t' you?"

Kurone's (currently smoking) blue jacket and steeple hat looked worse than it actually was. He looked once at the man and chose not to ask who the hell he was. "What happened…?" Kurone chuckled. "I'd rather not say. Do I know you?"

"We jus' met a while ago. Have you forgotten me already?" The man frowned. 

"Uh-huh. Say, let me dwell on that thought and I'll see if you register in my memory. Until then, I've gotta go. See ya!" He quickly sprinted away from the person to avoid any further conversation. "Jeez, that's odd… So there's somebody here that looks like me? This must be one of those weird-ass parallel dimensions."

Kurone stopped and reached into his jacket, unsheathing a dagger in the process. He figured that Kaloni was probably too busy promising to destroy C.O.N.S.I to have caught up to him, so he'd just take a quick look around to see what kind of blades there were around the city. But something caught his eye first, and they steadily widened after that…

Vivi was running down the street, curiosity at its peak. He wondered if Zidane and Dagger had seen the airship as well. That was quickly followed by the fact that _everybody_ was rushing forward to see what was going on, effectively dismissing his question at once. On his way to see the action, something even more interesting appeared in his vision. 

"That b-black mage… H-he looks just like me!" Unlike the mages on the airship, this one was his height with matching clothes. "But h-he's got a dagger like Zidane…" Vivi made halfway to the mage before tripping.

Kurone was broken out of his trance as Vivi tripped. He watched in horror as the oncoming stampede of people grew dangerously close to the small mage, and that they had no intention to stop. "Oh shit… He's gonna get trampled!" 

With a burst of speed, Kurone dashed onto the cobblestone street. He extended his left arm out urgently. Vivi wasted no time in taking it, immediately being pulled to his feet. They hurried out of the way just before the wave of people swarmed over the spot where Vivi once lay.

"You know, you're one lucky son of a gun." Kurone managed to get in between breaths, flashing a weak grin that was impossible to see.

"Y-you can talk?!" Vivi exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and happiness.

"Uh… Yeah. What's so special about that?" 

"I-It's just that all of the m-mages I've seen so far-"

"Shove over!" A boy yelled, pushing Kurone out of the way. The dagger-wielding mage reached out in a futile attempt to stay with Vivi, but he became lost in the crowd. He was able to yell out something about his blade before disappearing completely.

Vivi stood stunned for a short while. So close to finding someone… He retreated to a nearby alley after picking up the dagger. He gently ran a finger along the edge, surprised when it cleanly cut through his glove and nicked him. 

This thing's really sharp. He must take care of it a lot… He instead patted the flat side of the blade. The weapon was now sacred to Vivi, the only proof that there was someone else out there like him. "I gotta find him! Maybe th-there's even more talking mages!" He nodded to himself, determined, and stood to wait out the rest of the crowd.

Ah… As with all the other fanfiction authors out there, please review. Reviews are the equivalent of Mountain Dew and other sugary things. They make KawaiiKat very, very happy. ^-^


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